Alma Allen

February 14th, 2011

Alma Allen is a sculptor living and working in Joshua Tree, CA in an amazing home and studio he and his wife Nancy built over the past few years while living in a small trailer on their property. I’m amazed at the foresight and dedication a project like this requires seeing as Joshua Tree is like the wild west of construction with few skilled laborers, strangely divided parcels, bizarre coding and extreme weather.

I’ve long been a fan of his work, but hadn’t realized the couple kept a small blog of their adventures in custom home building + making incredible objects. Many thanks to Lily for mentioning it.

Their adorable sculptor in training Frieda and the desert pups Fritz and Poncho.

Alma, Roman from Commune and TK Smith (in the back) at The Ace Hotel. Three guys who are constantly inspiring most everything we do around here – you can even check out more of TK and Jill’s home HERE.

TK was the one who was kind enough to teach us how to weld (which I still haven’t paid him back for since he is a busy dude and super in demand). We are putting those skills to good use in our upcoming landscape projects and can’t thank him enough for being so generous.

A few things Alma’s made -

It’s no wonder why Alma’s work is in crazy demand. That coffee table makes my heart go all aflutter.

I love these DIY copper kitchen counter tops. All these possibilities of metal wrapped wood are getting the old brain wheels turning.

I’d love to see more of what this couple has accomplished in such a remotely difficult but beautiful slab of land in the high desert. The little snippets into their projects and home are incredibly intriguing and have refreshed my recently waning design gusto.
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    16 Comments

    1. Ryan on 02/14/2011:

      Wow iv been a fan of AAs stuff to. Never knew the man behind it or his life. Very cool stuff for sure.

    2. Julie @ Chapman Interiors on 02/14/2011:

      i like i like i like!! Being inspired is pricesless. Now, if I could just DO half of the inspiring things I have rolling around in my noggin.

    3. yhbhs on 02/14/2011:

      alma’s work is top notch. supremely crafted, and he deserves lots of attention! nice post morgan….

    4. Anna @ D16 on 02/15/2011:

      We were just admiring the copper-wrapped bar in a local restaurant last week, and I was thinking what a nice countertop material it would make. Love it next to those blue-green tiles!

    5. Tami on 02/15/2011:

      ‘Elma’ is Turkish for apple – did you know that? It’s a very old word, very important, from central asia. Almaty, or Alma ata, the capital of Kazakhstan, can be translated ‘father apple.’ A rich pedigree, indeed. Yet one more reason to know your friend is awesome.

    6. bianca of terri planty on 02/15/2011:

      wow. gorgeous gorgeous. the dude is living the life. and i love that he has aussies. :)

    7. Kim @ HousetoHomestead on 02/15/2011:

      Oh wow, I’d checked out his blog but missed those awesome copper counters. Thanks for posting it – I’ll have to poke around some more!

    8. RachelD on 02/15/2011:

      I love his work and have been following it for awhile.
      The shapes he sculpts are so simple but elegant and beautiful.
      Thanks for the post!

    9. THE BRICK HOUSE on 02/15/2011:

      I’m desperate to know how copper counters wear over time. Is the patina amazing or scary? I’m hoping amazing…

    10. Tonia on 02/15/2011:

      Love the copper counter tops!

    11. Logan on 02/15/2011:

      Whoa, I can only imagine how fun I would be to turn stuff on a lathe that size. Awesome house. Amazing stuff.

    12. modernhaus on 02/16/2011:

      In a major break with their typical bad hotel lobby decor, Architectural Digest featured a rad LA home Commune did that included some yummy Alma Allen pieces.

    13. julia wheeler on 02/16/2011:

      obsession! that tile for the backsplash and that countertop are unreal!

    14. Sarah on 02/17/2011:

      I cant even get over how amazing the copper topped counters are!

      <3 Sarah
      theantiquepearl.blogspot.com

    15. water removal on 05/23/2011:

      such inspiration.. best of luck to you.

    16. Kevin on 12/04/2012:

      I have been a big fan of Alma’s work since I bump into his boutique at Abbot Kinney in Venice over a decade ago. It was sad to see him leave Venice but obviously Joshua Tree is where he, his lovely wife Pearce (that was the name of his store in Venice), their baby, and their dog Fritz belong. His sculptures are very organic looking and feel great when you put them in the palm of your hand. I absolutely love them and regret that I didn’t get the miniature sculptures from Pearce when he used to do them back in the days.

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